• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 15 July 2004

It is an interesting way of avoiding the question. It did not bring enlightenment to the debate, or indeed comfort to the residents of West London. Your tram avoids Hayes, it avoids 4,500 new houses that you want to build on the Southall gasworks site, it actually avoids the centres of business and those that it does hit, it destroys. Come and visit West London. I know you were there twice during your election campaign. Come and walk the length of it and let me show you what it is really like.

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 15 July 2004

So your criteria for the use of public money is solely your political views, provided it is lawful of course?

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 15 July 2004

Do you agree that the Association of Nuclear Free Local Authorities is doing important work in terms of pushing for the decommissioning of the old Magnox nuclear power stations in the South East and that as soon as they are decommissioned then we will be close to ending nuclear waste travelling through London, which would be a very popular move with Londoners?

• Question by: Andrew Pelling
• Meeting date: 15 July 2004

In the context of your doubled taxation over the last four years, your Mayoral approval form report that comes with this meeting, is almost like a file that has fallen out of a cupboard in County Hall during the old GLC (Greater London Council) days. Joining this particular Association is redolent of that great municipal call for nuclear-free zones that we had in the 1980s. You have also granted money to CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament). However worthy their aims are, can I understand how it is that investment in the Association of Nuclear-Free Authorities or giving money to CND...

• Question by: Andrew Pelling
• Meeting date: 15 July 2004

One of the other grants you have given, or perhaps I should say benefit payments, in this set of post-election payments, is a £50,000 payment to the National Assembly Against Racism. I do not know very much about this body. Is it a GLA body? What is our relationship with them and what are we getting back from them?

• Question by: Andrew Pelling
• Meeting date: 15 July 2004

I am glad to hear that it is a broadly-based institution and not as you had first introduced as the result of some factional dispute on the far left. Do we have directors from GLA on the board of this organisation in return for this money?

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 15 July 2004

You have waived the normal hire fee to allow the national Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament to hold their conference here in September, which otherwise would have cost them nearly £18,000. What criteria do you use when deciding which organisations to make a payment to or to waive hire fees or otherwise to support?

• Question by: Andrew Pelling
• Meeting date: 15 July 2004

Do you think that more powers should have been given to local authorities to cut down on the freedom of providing licensing? Do you think that some of the burden should go on the licence fees when this type of problem occurs?

• Question by: Andrew Pelling
• Meeting date: 15 July 2004

Unfortunately, it was not just a couple. A very significant number of rioters were involved.

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 15 July 2004

I want to come in as the MPA link member for Croydon, following from Andrew Pelling's (Assembly Member) question. Can I say for information purposes, since the Chair of the MPA may not yet be fully up to speed, that the MPA and MPS have been conducting a very long and full consultation process on the risk formula, and that your views, Mr Mayor, would be as welcome as all the other views that have been received. Returning to Croydon, and as the MPS link member there, I have had a full briefing on the riots and been brought up...